Are you sure he's very good? Seems like everywhere I've checked, some respected sources and some not, think he'll be lucky to be a role player on the court especially if Michigan continues to become a stronger program. Always happy to see another person choose Michigan but my expectations of his basketball contributions are certainly limited.

Agree...if Max's talent ceiling is "only" Graham Brown, I will gladly have him on my roster. I loved G. Brown...perfect role player who set nasty picks, guarded physical bigs, rebounded, and showed enough offensive skill to be useful and contribute. And if Max has a mid-range game, all the better.

He was a four star recruit who was highly thought of. Just because he had a bad freshman year in which he probably didn't meet expectations doesn't mean he's exceeded them this year. Until he develops an outside shot he'll have a hard time exceeding expectations in my book.

I'm not sure how Stu has exceeded expectations either. He was a dead eye shooter coming out of HS and now he's streaky at best. Lights it up one game builds a house the next.

Morgan and Novak I would probably agree though both have games where they disappear. I expected great things out of THJ because I remember how good the original was.

As a team they definitely exceeded expectations this year. Hopefully the same thing doesn't happen that happened two years ago when we were coming off a season of dancing and had almost everyone back.

You realize that only 4 players in the entire nation averaged more assists than Morris, right? And you also realize that he played much tougher competition than the 4 players in front of him, right? And you also realize that he averaged 15 ppg, right? And you also realize he is only a sophomore, right? And you realize that on Rivals there were about 30 guards ranked above him and on Scout Vogrich was ranked ahead of him, right? It is absolutely absurd to say that because he isn't a great outside shooter, him possibly discussing going pro and being one of the better PGs in the nation as a sophomore means he hasn't exceeded expectations.

"The 6-foot-8, 230-pound senior is the most imposing player in central Illinois, maybe the entire state.

He is averaging almost 24 points, 12 rebounds and five blocks per game. He has led the Irish to a 21-0 start, two tournament titles, the Mid-State 6 Conference championship, the No. 1 ranking in Class 3A and a No. 35 ranking nationwide."

Johnny Most. I can still hear that shrieking smokers throat call of Bird's steal in Game 5 against the Pistons in the 87 playoffs. It didn't get any more evil than the Celtics of the 80s. Man I miss them.

For one, Beilein clearly values production over scouting reports - Novak, Douglass, Hardaway, and Smotrycz were all somewhat lightly-regarded guys (to varying degrees) that had huge high school numbers.

Second, I think it's clear that he keeps his own council in regards to scouting. He doesn't offer anyone until he's watched them in person, and they've come on an official visit - he's extremely thorough.

Third, roster depth didn't really force our hand here. We have the same team coming back, with Horford, McLimans, and Christian - all little used post-players in their first year of action - theoretically more ready to take some minutes. We didn't NEED a post guy here, so if Beilein took him, he clearly sees some value.

Fourth, while I doubt his HS production completely translates to college ball, look at what people say his strengths are - most people feel like, with his size, motor, and effort-level, he's ready to bang in the Big 10 now. Can't we use a 6'8" kid who can mix it up under the pain tomorrow? Maybe he becomes nothing more than a 2 ppg/4 rpg guy off the bench, but that's still something this team lacks.

Fifth, it's extremely possible we are trying to fill as many as four scholarships next year - Douglass', Novak's, Morris', and Hardaway's. That's a ton of kids to bring into a single class. getting a kid here, to avoid a five man class, seems like a decent idea.

I think Douglass' HS numbers were modest IIRC. Mclimans, Morgan and Christian did not have outstanding HS numbers either

I think we need another big body down low, more necessity than luxury. Belien has already said Christian needs to learn to play on the perimeter. Mcliamans? I have doubts he will ever earn more than spot duty. Horford has a ways to go but is very intriguing.

Bielfeldt is a classic space eater and we need this. The way Belien likes to have his bigs box out and his guards crash in for defensive rebounds is tailored to a guy like Bielfeldt.

Lastly, while Bielfeldt does not appear explosive, he does appear pretty damn fluid for a 6'7'' 240 pound 18 year old. I think he contributes early.

especially. I look forward to defenders coming away missing parts of their bodywork after his hard picks, and to seeing him play some nasty D. If he can move outside, drop three, and completely demoralize teams that are already suffering a Michigan blitzkrieg from outside, all the better.

Beilein and Novak have proved you don't need to be bigger than the guy you're guarding, just take great angles and fight on every play. Beilfeldt's said to have a sure grasp already on D and to never take a play off. . .

So how big is this guy? The services are not in agreement - he's listed anywhere from 6'6" to 6'8" and 210 to 225. Does anyone have a good idea or any info that would lend credence to one listing over another?

The nicest thing here is it means Smotrycz should NEVER have to play the 5. If McLimans and Horford can progress, you may see combos of Smotrycz and Morgan on the floor together, and when they come out Biefeldt can come in when McLimans or Horford are in, so there is always a combination of length and bulk at the 4/5.

I was a little more intrigued by Larry Nance Jr, but I'm not complaining. I certainly felt like it was important to add some size to this class.